Support fixture for supporting pronged structures



C. W. DALEY Nov. 24, 1953 SUPPORT .FIXTURE FOR SUPPORTING PRONGED STRUCTURES Filed June 28, 1950 Y I A xvFFfl V .3nveritor 67/4245: MAD/u y m/M 4 Gttomeg Patented Nov. 24, 1953 SUREOBT EIXTZURE non snrnonma PRONGED STRUCTURES? Gharles QWI. Daley; Indianapolis, Ind., assignor to RadioeConporationsofrAmerica," a. corporation otDelawar-e Application June 28; 1950'; Serial-hi0. 170,829,

6; claims. (01. 49-2i My inventionre1ates to a-novel support: fixture for supporting a pronged structure; and more particularlyconcerns a head 'on pin for supporting an electron tube component such as a flat glass stem having lead -ins -extending therefrom; on am-apparatus for' processing-electron tuhesz;

9116 173 116 of? apparatus: employed processing electron tubes comprises a'wm'achino for- Sealing" artu'bular" glass: envelope portion r of an electrontube to. a. flat, button type glass 'stem having lead-'ends extending: from. both- 7 faces thereof The lea d'eins. extending from one face of the stem serve to support electrode assembly andrthewleadi-ins extending from the other face servezas. contactxpron'gsi for the finished tube.-

apparatusa referred to: includes an inter-- mittentlyi, rotatable: turrethaving" adjacent its periphery a plurality! of heads or pins: for supporting: the stems referred to; during the sealing operationn'l he pins: are provided with upper fiat surfaces; lying-in. horizontal planes: and have boreszonholes extending vertically downwardsaidzsurtaces. The bores: or holes ineach ofzlthe: pinszarerarrayedi in a patterr-r similar totheaarray 'ofithe; contact; prongs on a. stern, for

receiving said prongs. This array, for example; may be circular. When. the prongsof a; stem area received-in:thevbores: referred to, the flat stem restsionzthe'upper-surfaceof a: pin. This 0 is-uthr-i: desired position of a stem for sealing thereto-ma; glass: envelope:

One of the difiiculties encountered in proc essing; electron-;.tubes*:by.-* an apparatus of the typerdescribed; resides. inv mountingthe stem on the. sealing: pin; Therbores in: the sealing pins' have-c'heretofore/ beenrmade with a diameter for receiving the prongs: of thestem in substantially snugaflts. This has required the operator of the machine to locatethestem properly in rela tion tct'alli. the: bores in" a pin to assure entrance of all the prongs in: .thebores; The operation of mounting a stem'on ahead-'- or pin of an elec tron mute sealing machinehas-therefore required appreciable time and has contributed to substantiaF'fatigue on. the part'of the operator;

Itis'therefore-an objector my invention to facilitate the mounting of work pieces on an electron tube processing apparatus.

A further object of the invention is toprovide an improved electron tube processing apparatus on 'whichwork pieces" can be qui'ckly' and easily" loaded? Another object is to: provide'a support pin foran electrontube' processing apparatus for quick- 1y and ea'sily receiving a workpiecetobe-proc-- essed'.

A further object is to provide a sealing pinfor an apparatus for sealing a glass" stem to "a glass envelope in the-fabrication of an electron tube whereinthe mounting of the stem on thesealingpin is facilitated.

Another objectis: to provide a stem support fixture having an" arrayof bores thereinfor facilitating entrance of prongs of saidstem into said. boresa A further object is to provide a support fixture-- for a pronged flat stem wherein pores in said fixture'--' for receiving prongs: of saidstem are dimensioned: and arrayed; for facile-receipt of said prongs.

Another object is to provide-a stem supportfixture having a plurality of "bores therein for receiving: prongs extending from said stem without requiring critical registrybetween all or said cores and said prongs. when mountingsaidstem on said fixture.

A further objectis: to-providea fixture having borestherein for receiving and supporting a flat stem having prongs, wherein" one of said bores is critically dimensioned for receiving one of said pron-gs" in a; snug fit and the other bores are: dimensioned for quick and easy receipt of the-- other of said prongs;

One-embodi'ment-ot the invention attaining the A foregoing objects may be a: vertically disposed head or pin having an upper fiat surface provided. with a plurality of bores or holes disposed in: a partly: circular array for receiving and sup-- porting a flatglass stem having a circular array of prongs extending therefrom. Theprong s of the stem may be-of equal diameter. One of the bores referred to:- has: a diamet'erfor receiving one of" theprongs in a relativelysnug fit. Theother bones have diameters substantially greater- The array oi" than the diameter of' the prongs. the'b'ores is such that whenall the prongs are receivedtherein one of the prongs fits tightly in: one of diabetes and the-other prongs engage ticularityin the appended claims; it may best beunderstood from a consideration of the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof presented for illustration only, taken in connection with the appended drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a support fixture and a fiat glass stem having lead-ins extending therefrom and adapted to be supported on the fixture;

Figure 2 is a side view of the support fixture with the stem in supported position thereon;

Figure 3 is a cross-section along the line 3-'-3 of Figure 2, and shows the array and dimensions of the bores in the support fixture in relation to the lead-ins or prongs extending from one face of the stem; and

Figure 4 is an elevation in section along the line 44 of Figure 2, and depicts the snug fit of one of the prongs of the stem in one of the bores of the support fixture, and the loose fit of another prong in another bore. 7

Referring now in more detail to the drawing, there is shown in Figure 1 a support fixture II] which may be a head or a sealing pin of a glass sealing apparatus, not shown. The fixture has an upper horizontal surface S I from which a plurality of bores I2 to I9, inclusive, extend downwardly in a vertical direction. The surface II of the pin is adapted to receive a flat glass stem 20. The glass stem 20 has lead-ins 2| extending from the upper face thereof and adapted to be connected to an electrode assembly, not shown.

successively through a plurality of processing stations including a loading station. The heads are held stationary for a relatively short interval at each of the stations referred to.

In view of the relatively short interval during which a head is stationary at the loading station, it is necessary that the operation of loading a stem having lead-ins extending therefrom on a head of the machine be performed quickly. The loading operation on conventional machines requires that the stem be first oriented above a pin so that the prongs of the stem are in registry with the bores in the pin, and then be pushed downwardly on the pin without disturbing the orientation referred to so that the prongs enter the bores. This operation is difiicult to perform and generally requires a number of trials and errors before the stem is properly mounted or loaded on the pin. Since the trial and error method of loading must be carried out during the relatively short interval when a pin is stationary at the loading station, it is necessary that the operator work fast with a consequent increase in fatigue.

The novel sealing pin according to the invention eliminates the need for a plurality of trials before a stem is properly fitted on a pin. I

According to the invention, the pin is provided with a plurality of bores extending downwardly from an upper surface thereof and disposed in a predetermined array, so that when the prongs 22 of the stem 20 are in registry with the bores, only one of the prongs is coaxial with a bore I2. The other bores I3 to I9, inclusive, are appreciably wider than the prong and are arranged in such a manner that the prongs 22 other than the prong entering bore I2, are in registry with portions of the bores adjacent the inner edge of the array. Thus, while the bores I3 to I9 are seemingly wide enough to permit free play therein of prongs, such free play is permitted only prior to engagement of all the prongs with all the bores in the pin. After this engagement is completed, the stem is held in a predetermined fixed position on the pin with no play permitted between the prongs and the walls of the bores.

It will be noted from Figure 3, that the prongs 22 are in a circular array, the axes of the prongs defining a circle 23 shown in dotted line. The sides of the prongs facing inwardly of this array also define a circle 24 shown in dotted line. Circle 24 is of smaller diameter than the circle 23. The difference in diameter between circles 23 and 24 is equal to the diameter of a prong 22. While the axis of bore or hole I2 is included in the circle 23, the axes of the other bores I3 to I3 define a circle 25 having a larger diameter than circle 23. It will be noted that circle 25 is concentric with circles 23 and 24.

The arrangement and size distribution of the bores referred to facilitates loading a stem on a pin. The operation of loading involves first extending prong into bore I2, and then rotating the stem on this prong without disturbing the engagement between the prong and the bore I2, until the other prongs enter the bores I3 to I9. To further facilitate entrance of the other prongs referred to into their associated bores, it is helpful to tilt the stem slightly to the left or right as viewed in Figure 1 after bore I2 is engaged by a prong to initially engage the wider bores disposed to one side of the pin. This engagement need not be critical and is therefore quickly performed. Once the prongs to either the left or right of the stem are engaged by bores in the stem, all that remain is for the operator to rotate the stem in the opposite direction that in which the engaged bores lie. This will bring engaged prongs into contact with the walls of the bores adjacent the inner edge of the bore array and will result in registry between the other prongs and bores. The stem is then simply pushed down on the pin and all the prongs of the stem enter the bores in the pin.

An alternative procedure for loading a stem on a pin that is rendered available by my invention involves first, extending a prong into one of the wider bores and then urging th stem toward the center of .the bore array. This automatically brings the other pins into registry with the other bores. A further modification in procedure is to first extend as many prongs as readily feasible into the wider bores and then insert the final prong into the narrower bore. The preferable practice is first to engage one or more of the prongs in the wide bores and then complete the mounting operation by urging the stem to the center of the pin to secure registry between the reaming bores and prongs.

The pin of the invention therefore permits a loading operation of positive steps requiring no repetition for trial purposes.

Once a suitable sequence of steps as described above has been learned by an operator, the loading of a stem on a pin can be accomplished quickly and with a minimum of fatigue on the part of the operator.

The increased rapidity of loading stems on a sealing machine that my invention accomplishes is of particular significance in view of the present trend toward increased speed of operation of electron tube processing machines. In many instances the loading operation is the only manually performed step and accordingly represents the operation least ouickly performed during operation of the machine. Increasing the speed of loading therefore permits many types of machines to be operated faster with consequent increase in output and reduced cost 'per unit processed.

Various modifications in the embodiment described will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art without departing from the invention. For example, the invention may b incorporated in sockets for receiving pronged members wherein the socket is an independent support fixture and not associated with a machine. Accordingly it is desired to include such modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fixture for an electron tube processing machine adapted to receive a fiat glass stem having prongs of equal diameter extending from one face of the stem and having axes disposed in a circular array, said fixture having a surface adapted to receive said glass stem, said surface having bores therein adapted to receive said prongs, one of said bores having a predetermined diameter and adapted to receive one of said prongs in a snug fit and having an axis disposed in said array, the others of said bores having diameters larger than said predetermined diameter and adapted to receive the others of said prongs in loose fits and having axes disposed in a circular array concentric with and of larger radius than said first named circular array, said others of said bores being defined by walls having portions adapted to contact said others of said prongs, whereby the mounting of said stem on said fixture is facilitated.

2. A socket fixture for an electron tube processing machine adapted to receive in mounted position thereon a fiat glass stem having prongs of equal diameter extending from one face thereof in a circular array, said fixture having bores therein adapted to receive said prongs, one of said bores having a smaller diameter than the others of said bores, all of said bores being tangent to a circle concentric with said circular array and having a smaller diameter than said array whereby said one of said bores is adapted to receive snugly one of said prongs and to serve as a locating means for initially locating said stern on said fixture and said others of said bores are adapted to receive the others of said prongs by rotating said stem on said one of said prongs for registry with said others of said bores.

3. A socket fixture for an electron tube processing machine adapted to receive in mounted relation thereon a flat glass electron tube stem having prongs of equal diameter extending from one face of the stem and disposed in a closed array, surfaces of said prongs inwardly of said array being in a circular array, said fixture having a surface adapted to engage said one face of the stem, said surface having bores therein adapted to receive said prongs, one of said bores having a diameter substantially equal to that of one of said prongs, the others of said bores having a larger diameter than any one of said prongs, said bores being disposed in a closed array and having edges inwardly of said array disposed in a cir- 6 cular array concentric with and having a diameter equal to said first-named circular array, whereby mounting of said prongs in said bores is facilitated.

4. A socket adapted to receive prongs of equal diameter having axes in a circular array, said socket having holes arranged in a closed array for reception of said prongs, one of said holes havin its axis in said circular array and being of the same diameter as said prongs, the remainder of the holes having a larger diameter than said prongs and having axes disposed in a circular array concentric with and of slightly larger diameter than the circular array of said prongs, all of said holes being tangent to a circle concentric with and of smaller diameter than the diameter of said first named circular array, whereby extension of said prongs into said holes is facilitated.

5. A socket having holes arranged to receive circularly arranged and equal diameter prongs, said holes being disposed in a closed array and defined by walls including portions facing inwardly of said array, said portions being arranged to define a circle concentric with and having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the circular array of said prongs, said last named diameter being substantially equal to the sum of the diameter of said circle and a diameter of one of said prongs, one of said holes being substantially of the diameter of said prongs, the

remainder of said holes having a larger diameter,

than said prongs, whereby extension of said prongs into said holes is favored.

machine, said socket having a fiat surface adapted to receive a flat glass stem, said surface having bores therein for receiving prongs of equal diameter disposed in a circular array and extending from one face of said stem, one of said bores havin a predetermined diameter, whereby said one of said bores is adapted to receive initially one of said prongs in a snug fit, the others of said bores having larger diameters than said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,203,917 Malloy June 11, 1940 2,321,600 Horn June 15, 1943 2,337,055 Mathias et al. Dec. 21, 1943 2,454,834 Powers Nov. 30, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 481,940 Great Britain Mar. 16', 1938 6. A socket for an electron tube processing 

